New York City Ballet nods to its glorious past, but stumbles moving forward

Fifty years ago, when the New York State Theater opened its doors at Lincoln Center, the art of dance stood tall and stretched its limbs.

New York City Ballet, the theater's chief tenant, reminded audiences of this awakening at its spring gala on May 8.

City Ballet can justly celebrate its past and the talents of certain artists today. The gala featured a bona fide star performance by ballerina Sara Mearns, whose gorgeous lines, impetuosity and elegant phrasing brought life to choreographer George Balanchine’s "Allegro Brillante." Later in the evening, another pair of marvelous dancers, Tiler Peck and Amar Ramasar, lit up the premiere of "Everywhere We Go" by Justin Peck (no relation to Tiler).

Before observers lapse into a nostalgia- and publicity-induced stupor, however, we should not fail to mention the sinkhole that separates us from that 1964 inauguration.

New York City Ballet

Where:

David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, 63rd Street and Columbus Avenue, New York

When:

Through June 8. Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m.

How much:

$29 to $159; call (212) 496-0600 or visit nycballet.com.

For one thing, the theater — whose name once glorified a civic achievement — now acts as a billboard for an infamous political operative, David H. Koch. Then there is the inconvenient truth that Balanchine, for whom the theater was built, died in 1983. City Ballet has spent more years in this theater deteriorating under Balanchine’s successor, Peter Martins, than it did thriving under his genius.

Though rallying occasionally during the interval when resident choreographer Christopher Wheeldon produced masterworks such as "Mercurial Manouevres" (2000), "Polyphonia" (2001) and "Evenfall" (2006), fiascoes like the 21st Century Choreographers program that opened the current season are more common.

Despite its title, 21st Century Choreographers included two ballets created in the last century, where Martins’ ponderous "Barber Violin Concerto" should have remained embalmed. William Forsythe’s sly "Herman Schmerman Pas de Deux" makes a fine vehicle for Ramasar, who — even slouching and off-handed — has a svelte presence that’s impossible to ignore. His graceless partner Maria Kowroski, however, is unable to make even pedestrian movement look convincing. A pas de deux from Wheeldon’s "Bitter Earth," exquisitely danced by Wendy Whelan and Tyler Angle, was the program’s lyrical highlight.

Sara Mearns in 'Allegro Brillante'

In the collaborative premiere "Les Bosquets," a clash of protesters left Lauren Lovette lying broken on the ground to be rescued by the hip-hop artist Lil Buck. This pretentious spectacle climaxed when the chic, urban guerillas lined up to reveal a wavy design stenciled on their leotards. Did we mention there was video streaming? Audience members should have been streaming — for the exits — before the start of Alexei Ratmansky’s infantile and nearly endless "Namouna." And many were.

Justin Peck is merely the latest wunderkind to whom City Ballet has entrusted its future. His choreographies, including "Everywhere We Go," display a powerful imagination for organizing groups, yet he is not the savior all await — not yet, anyway.

Set against a stylized honeycomb, his latest ballet fairly buzzes with patterns. Bodies wriggle and pop, or dancers lie prone with their legs straight up. We advance from a scene in which pairs of men stand close — the man in back half embracing and half blinding the one in front with curving arms — to a scene in which, one by one, the members of this colony faint and die. In one passage, the dancers assemble in two lines that meet to form an angle. This impressive structure, which encloses a dancing couple, traverses the stage, gradually shrinking as it sheds dancers.

Unfortunately, Peck seems more interested in such space-sculpting exercises than he is in classical footwork. Before he can claim to be Balanchine’s heir, he must discover the beauty of the ballerina’s foot and the utility of those steps designed to illumine it.